


The Clue in the Old Letter

by teenagewitching



Category: Nancy Drew (Video Games), Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys Super Mysteries - Franklin W. Dixon & Carolyn Keene
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-25 19:46:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30094179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teenagewitching/pseuds/teenagewitching
Summary: Nancy & co are invited to a wedding, where Nancy promises Ned that the weekend is about them, not sleuthing. That is until Frank introduces a possible mystery at the venue that leaves Nancy questioning every promise she's made.Just playing with these characters and trying to blend some elements from the books with the HER videogames!
Relationships: Nancy Drew/Frank Hardy
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	The Clue in the Old Letter

The trees blended into a myriad of reds, oranges, and yellows in Nancy’s rearview mirror. River Heights and the surrounding areas were always beautiful, but especially so in early fall. Crisp mornings punctuated by jewel-tone leaves and rolling fog were one of the things Nancy missed most when traveling. Over the past few years, her passport had been filled with stamps, visas, and working permits from the various assignments that came her way. 

Nancy was a detective, but not in the way that most would think. She worked as a blend between a private investigator and a fixer, and was no stranger to breaking laws (both domestic and international) to solve a mystery. While her father (a famous attorney) kept sending clients her way, mysteries also seemed to just pop up when Nancy was around, much to the chagrin of her boyfriend, Ned. 

Ned was asleep in the passenger seat, his head pressed to the cool glass of the window and sliding a bit every time Nancy hit a bump. Nancy glanced over every time she did, hoping he’d stay asleep. It was 5:47am, a time too early for everyone. Nancy’s two best friends, Bess and George, were asleep in the back row of her car. In a perfect world, Nancy would be asleep too, but alas, she pulled the short straw and had to drive everyone to the airport. Nancy hit another bump, and cursed the county road she was zipping down. Ned stirred again, this time sitting up. 

“Morning, sunshine,” Nancy said. 

“Hello,” Ned yawned. He turned back to look at Bess and George, still knocked out. “Boy, they’re dead asleep.” 

“Well, I think the stress of planning a wedding shook both their houses up,” Nancy said, merging over a lane to pass a particularly slow truck. “Their moms were both going crazy packing for their flight yesterday.” 

“And it’s George’s sister?” Ned asked, pulling his phone out. “Or Bess’ sister? Their families blend in my head.” 

Nancy nodded. “Bess’ older sister, George’s cousin. Their moms are sisters.” 

Ned waved his hand, scrolling with the other. “I knew they were cousins,” he pouted. “I pay attention.” 

He reached for Nancy’s hand, which she let him take. He started stroking his thumb over her palm, which left shivers down her spine. 

“I know you do,” said Nancy. “I never said you didn’t.” 

“I know, I know,” rushed Ned. He paused, then continued slowly, soaking in Nancy’s every movement. “Funny how we’re going to a wedding.” 

Nancy, knowing she was being observed, did her best to not tense up. 

“Yeah,” she said. “I think it’ll be fun to explore the property, and see everyone, and dance.” 

“Makes me think about the future,” Ned added. “What ours will look like.” 

Nancy focused on the GPS. _Take the next exit for the airport._

“And what do you see?” she asked, choosing her words carefully. “Which one of us is wearing the white dress?” 

Ned rolled his eyes. “Nancy, be serious. This could be a good time to start thinking a little more seriously. It’ll be us, a wedding, no mysteries or cases.” 

Nancy put on her turn signal, and started to merge until Ned dropped her hand and shouted “Careful!” 

Her head snapped up and she swerved over. In the commotion, Bess and George started moving but settled back down. 

“What happened?” mumbled Bess, nuzzling into her travel pillow. 

“Nothing,” responded Nancy. “Ned just saved all our lives, again.” 

She glanced over at Ned, who was just beginning to smile. Good job, Nance, she thought. 

“He’s a keeper,” Bess replied sleepily, pressing her face back in the pillow. 

“I agree,” Nancy said, reaching her hand back over for Ned’s. “And for the record, I’ll wear the dress.”

She watched as the tension left Ned’s shoulders, then turned back to the road. 

***

An hour later, after parking, checking bags, security, finding the gate, finding out the gate had changed, finding the new gate, and getting coffee, Nancy was able to finally sit and let her thoughts wander. Bess and George had gotten her a blueberry muffin and a coffee as a thank-you for driving, and Ned had left to wander and find his own travel pillow. Bess was back to sleeping, this time draped over George’s shoulders, and George was aimlessly scrolling through Twitter on her phone. 

_ “Flight 124 from MSP to ATL will start boarding at 7:40am. Please see the ticket desk if you need extra time to board.”  _

Nancy glanced at her watch. 7:01. She pulled out a workbook from her leather tote bag, along with a pencil. She was about to flip to a set of drills when she felt George nudge her with her foot.

“Are you doing work on a vacation?” George hissed. “Your dad gave us strict instructions that you have to have fun.” 

Nancy shrugged. 

“It’s just LSAT vocabulary drills. Besides, aren’t you and Bess going to be miserable with how your moms are freaking out? I figured I should be miserable in solidarity.” 

George gave a hollow laugh. 

“Fine, but I’m going to tell your dad that you had three mimosas in the airport and only watched reality TV on the flight.” 

Nancy rolled her eyes and turned back to her work. Doing work felt normal, almost too normal. She had graduated college two years ago, and had been working ever since. Law school seemed like a reasonable next step, after all, she should probably know what laws she was breaking when investigating. She’d never be a police detective-- too much paperwork, and besides, a police department wouldn’t like someone like her. Nancy wasn’t a big fan of secrets, and usually could figure out someone’s dirty laundry within twenty-four hours, maybe forty-eight if they were particularly careful. No, cops would hate her. 

She had just started filling out a worksheet on tautologies when she heard her name. She turned to see two men, one blonde and one with darker hair standing behind her. They both had backpacks, suitcases, and the one with dark hair had on a faded sweatshirt that read Copper Gorge, Colorado. 

“Nance, mind if I sit here?” said the one with darker hair. Nancy felt her face flush. 

“Of course, Frank,” she said, moving her blueberry muffin and napkins. She worked to stop her face from being so warm. 

Frank and Joe Hardy were similarly employed as Nancy-- the blend between a private investigator and a fixer. They had all gone to elementary school together, and kept in vague touch, but hadn’t really been close until after graduating, when their mysteries started overlapping with Nancy’s. Their parents, family friends of Bess and George’s families, were flying out tomorrow. 

Joe, the blonde one, plopped next to George, who stifled a look of annoyance, but not well. 

“Can’t believe I’m missing orientation weekend,” Joe complained. George shifted a little, trying to not shrug off Bess but also pay attention to Joe. “It’s my senior year.” 

“This is gonna suck,” she said. “I know it’s your last orientation weekend but I’m missing a white-water rafting trip with my new colleagues. How are they going to bond with me in our new workplace if they never see me flip over a raft or almost drown?” 

Joe laughed, and the two delved into quiet chattering about rafting and kayaking and how the water had been particularly cold this year. Nancy watched them, focused, determined to wait until acknowledging Frank beside her. 

Frank obviously had other plans, and stretched, leaning on her a little. Not that she noticed. 

“Excited about the trip?” Frank asked, leaning over and tearing away a piece of Nancy’s muffin. He winked at her as he popped the piece into his mouth. 

“Yeah, surely will be a boring weekend,” replied Nancy, brushing a crumb off her lap and closing her workbook. “Probably good for us.” 

Frank laughed. “Nancy Drew, excited about a boring weekend? I think she’s an imposter.” 

Nancy shrugged, acutely aware of how he had his arm draped over the back of her seat. She could feel George looking at her as she leaned a little-- just a little-- into Frank’s arm. She glanced up at George, who gave a quiet nod. 

“Not an imposter, just trying to avoid any mysteries or cases,” she said. “I promised Ned that I wouldn’t investigate anything beyond the flowers used in the centerpieces. You know how not everyone’s into solving crime or whatever.” 

“Or whatever,” Frank repeated. “I get it. Shame there’s a cool mystery at this plantation. There’s even a manilla folder in my bag from my dad. Anyways Nance, what flowers do you think they’ll have?” 

Nancy’s face flushed again. Frank was teasing her. 

“Just give me a hint,” Nancy said. Frank picked up her coffee and took a sip. “ _ Please _ ?” 

“I thought you were having a boring weekend,” said Frank, taking another sip. Nancy was the reason he had gotten into vanilla lattes in the first place. “Won’t a case ruin those plans?” 

Nancy rolled her eyes. 

“I would just like some  _ information _ , that’s all,” she said. “You know what it’s like when people aren’t into mysteries. Didn’t Callie hate how many cases you had?” 

Frank wiggled his eyebrows, removing his arm from the back of her chair and leaning forward to his backpack. “Callie and I are split. Have been for months. Thought you’d know that, Nance.”

Nancy did know that. A small piece of shame flared up inside her. She had played more of a role than she would have liked to admit in their breakup. She had a lot of sympathy for Callie, ultimately, her and Frank’s split was due to schedule conflicts that weren’t helped by Nancy inviting Frank and Joe to her family’s new lakehouse and Frank choosing to go instead of spending the weekend with Callie. She even knew his almost immediate reaction to their breakup, something she replayed in her mind when she was alone. 

*** 

She remembered how she found Frank sitting on the dock when the campfire was in ashes and everyone else was in bed. 

Nancy had called out to him, gently, as not to wake anyone up, “Frank!” 

Frank hadn’t turned around, and Nancy, not one for minding her own business, had gone and sat next to him. 

“I get that the view is nice, but it is awfully late,” Nancy had said, taking her flip-flops off so her toes could dangle in the water. “What’s wrong?” 

Frank gestured at the lake, bathed in moonlight with the shadows from pine tree shadows reaching toward the center. “I threw my phone in the lake.” 

“On purpose?” Nancy asked. She paused, chiding herself for such a dumb comment. Of course, it was on purpose. 

“Callie and I broke up,” Frank said, leaning back. “She was rather displeased with how I chose to spend the weekend.” 

Nancy felt her heart stop, then decided to not read into what Frank said. 

“You could have invited her,” said Nancy, suddenly fascinated by how the lake was rippling. “It’s a big enough group of people that she wouldn’t have felt left out. And she’d have you.”

She hoped he didn’t hear how she tacked that last bit on as an afterthought. 

“Yeah, but who’d be helping you wrangle people around and figure out how to open the locked cabinet in the lake house?” Frank had turned to her, and Nancy focused harder on the lake. “Who would have driven into town with you and helped you ask around about who used to live up here?”

Nancy kicked her foot out so she’d have new ripples to study. 

“I can do that by myself,” she said quietly. 

“You said it was more fun with me,” Frank replied, edging closer to her. Nancy felt her breath catch in her throat. “You said it was easier with me.”

Nancy turned her attention to exhaling and inhaling like a normal person. She also remembered how Frank had hugged her when he and Joe first arrived, and how she had told Frank that she was glad he was at the lakehouse with her and not Ned. Judging by Frank's actions, he remembered too. 

She turned to face Frank, blinking away any doubt that was starting to cloud her judgment. Or was her judgment already off? She wasn’t sure. She took a deep breath, then leaned in to kiss him. 

He had kissed her back, then pulled away, sending Nancy into a panic. 

“I’m...I’m so sorry,” she sputtered. She couldn’t believe how stupid she was- he had just been dumped or dumped Callie, she wasn’t certain, she hadn’t even bothered to ask before basically pitching herself at him. “I definitely misinterpreted-”

Frank cut her off by kissing her again. She felt herself melting into him, his hands cupping her face and on her lower back. She broke away but stayed as close as they had gotten. 

“Frank,” she breathed. “I’m assuming-”

Frank laughed. 

“Nancy, I am going to ask, no, beg, that we just enjoy this moment,” Frank said, dropping his hand from her face to her hand. “I think I can even answer some questions, like yes, Callie dumped me, and no, I am not upset, because yes, I want to be right here with you.”

A scream had broken their silence, coming from the house. The next morning, Nancy had quietly snuck out to the dock and retrieved her flip flops from next to Frank’s. They hadn’t discussed anything since. 

***

“ _ Flight 124 from MSP to ATL will start boarding at 7:40am. Please see the ticket desk if you need extra time to board.” _

“I know,” Nancy said to Frank. “I was merely mentioning Callie because she wasn’t a fan of how cases take precedence.”

Frank smirked, now holding the manilla folder. 

“I was hoping you remembered,” he said, handing the file to her. “Anyway, check it out.”

Nancy, almost vibrating with excitement at the idea of a case, glanced at Frank. 

“I did,” she said, opening the file. “Of course I did-”

George, whose reputation for clumsiness was well-deserved, knocked over Bess’s iced coffee, causing everyone to hop up. Ned, to his credit, had just gotten back from purchasing his travel pillow and was quick to throw down the napkins he had from his breakfast earlier. 

After they had cleaned up the ice and George had hastily purchased a second coffee for Bess, Ned took the folder from Nancy’s hands.

“Nancy, I get nervous seeing file folders,” he laughed. “What’s this?” 

Nancy hastily grabbed it back. 

“Something Frank was showing me, but it’s not important,” she said, shoving it at Frank. “Besides, it’s a vacation weekend, so it’s extra unimportant.” 

Ned smiled and sat on the other side of Nancy. “Good to hear,” he said. “Now let me pull up that podcast I was telling you about- I bet you have time to download it onto your phone before boarding.”

Nancy vaguely tuned in, halfheartedly nodding while trying to calm her mind down. She needed to see that folder. And possibly talk to Frank. And Ned. Maybe in that order. She felt her phone buzz from her back pocket. 

_ Frank Hardy: Give me a second.  _

Nancy looked up and saw Frank and Joe furtively texting back and forth. 

“Ned, did you say it was a Civil War podcast?” Joe asked. “I have a class on the Civil War this semester.” 

Ned looked up at Joe, grinning. “This podcast would be wonderful! It’s so in-depth- what’s your class reading?” 

Joe and Ned were quickly lost in details about the Civil War that would have bored Ken Burns. 

“I’d love to listen to this podcast, but I forgot my headphones,” said Joe. “Do you think we could each share an earbud and listen on the plane? Nancy permitting, of course.” 

Nancy, realizing Frank’s plan, smiled. 

“Of course,” said Nancy. “We can just swap boarding passes.” 

Joe scowled at Frank for a moment as Nancy pulled her pass out of her bag.

“Works for me,” said Joe, handing her his pass. “Have fun.” 

Nancy glanced down and noticed the PREMIER status on Joe’s ticket. 

“First class?” she mouthed at Joe. Joe nodded. Nancy had nice seats for sure, but it wasn’t first class. She got the sneaking suspicion that the case was about to be more complicated than she first thought- who was paying for Frank and Joe to fly first class? 

She glanced down at her watch: 7:40. 

“Time to queue up!” announced George, grabbing Bess’s duffle bag and slinging it over her shoulder. “I’m group 2.” 

Ned (and now Joe) were in Group 1, a benefit from Nancy’s frequent flier status. She was surprised that Joe and Frank didn’t have the same, but were instead in the last group, Group 5. 

“It’s so we can see everyone boarding the plane,” Frank said slowly to Nancy. “Start sleuthing early on.” 

Nancy rolled her eyes and followed Frank to the Group 5 line, waving at Ned and Joe in Group 1, and Bess and George in Group 2. She adjusted the shoulder strap of her bag, already wondering what she was going to find on the flight or the trip. She glanced over at Frank, who was already looking at her. 

“Hey,” she said. “Aren’t we supposed to be  _ sleuthing _ ?” 

Frank laughed. “Okay, let me savor these precious few moments left where I know more than you do about this case.” 

Nancy swatted his arm. 

“Only because you let me switch into Joe’s first-class seat,” she said. 

*** 

Across the line, someone kept glancing back at the two laughing. Bragging about sleuthing? Talking about case files? Sometimes, the mark was too easy. They turned back to face the ticket agent, who said a little too chipper, “Have a nice flight!” 

“Oh, I will,” they replied, taking their ticket back and walking towards the open door to the plane. “I promise.” 

**Author's Note:**

> I know this was a long intro, but I wanted to delve into the characters before any actual mystery happenings. I promise, all will be revealed in time!
> 
> Callie is based on Callie Shaw, from the original 1927 publication and series.


End file.
